Why post-hospital recovery is becoming a big healthcare business in India: Sukino CEO explains

India accounts for nearly 10% of the world’s stroke cases each year, but for most patients, the real battle begins not in the hospital, but after discharge. Once the acute phase of treatment ends, families are often left to manage months of recovery at home—without clinical supervision, structured rehabilitation, or specialised nursing support. This long-neglected gap between hospital care and home care is now emerging as one of the fastest-growing opportunities in Indian healthcare.

Bengaluru-headquartered Sukino is betting big on this “missing middle”. The out-of-hospital healthcare chain has raised $31 million in a Series B funding round led by Bessemer Venture Partners, with Rainmatter joining in, to scale its protocol-driven recovery and rehabilitation model across India.

Founded in 2016, Sukino operates more than 850 beds across 11 centres and is profitable at the group level—an uncommon feat in a capital-intensive healthcare sector. The fresh capital will be used to expand geographically and broaden the range of chronic conditions it treats, as demand for structured post-hospital care accelerates.

The gap hospitals cannot fill

India’s hospital system is designed primarily for acute care—surgeries, emergency interventions, and short inpatient stays. According to Sukino Co-Founder and CEO Rajinish Menon, that leaves a critical void once patients are medically stabilised.

“Hospitals today are completely flooded. They cannot keep patients for long periods because of unit economics, commercials, and patient load,” Menon told CNBC-TV18. “Families can only provide supportive care at home. They are not equipped to deliver clinical, rehabilitative care.”

For patients recovering from stroke, severe neurological disorders, cancer treatments, or multiple comorbidities, this gap can be costly. Inadequate post-discharge care significantly raises the risk of complications and hospital readmissions, adding to both emotional and financial stress.

Sukino positions itself between hospitals and homes, offering recuperative and rehabilitative care under one roof. Its centres provide nursing, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, nutrition planning, and medical supervision over weeks or months—services that hospitals struggle to deliver efficiently and homes cannot replicate.

A large, nascent market

Menon describes out-of-hospital care as a “very large, very nascent” market. India’s disease burden—particularly stroke, neurological disorders, and cancer—continues to rise, while hospital capacity remains constrained. This combination is pushing families to look for institutional recovery options outside tertiary hospitals.

Over the past eight to nine years, about 77% of Sukino’s patients have come from the neurological segment, with stroke accounting for more than half of that. However, the company is increasingly seeing demand from oncology patients undergoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy, as well as individuals with complex comorbidities who need long-term health management.

“These are the patients for whom our model works very well,” Menon said. “Recuperative and rehabilitative care go hand in hand to ensure readmissions are not high.”

VC money follows healthcare reality

The $31 million Series B round signals growing investor confidence in post-hospital care as a scalable business, rather than a niche healthcare service. Bessemer Venture Partners’ backing reflects a belief that structured recovery models could become an essential extension of India’s healthcare infrastructure.

For Sukino, the funding will support expansion beyond its current strongholds of Bengaluru, Kochi, and Coimbatore. The company plans to deepen its presence across South India and enter select Tier-1 cities and metros in northern India.

“The whole of South India is open, and many metros and Tier-1 cities in the north are also open,” Menon said. “There is a huge market.”

Profitable, yet asset-light

Healthcare is traditionally associated with heavy capital expenditure, but Sukino has taken an asset-light approach, differentiating itself from tertiary hospitals while offering hospital-grade services. This model, Menon argues, is key to profitability.

“While we have all the necessary services you see in hospitals, it’s still an asset-light model, which helps reduce costs,” he said. “It’s about maintaining good shop-floor economics and controlling costs well.”

That approach has translated into strong financial performance. Sukino has clocked 64% year-on-year growth, with a five-year compound annual growth rate of around 51%. Menon believes demand will continue to drive growth, provided costs are managed efficiently.

“If you get the costing right, profitability is not a matter of concern. It is also less capital-intensive than regular tertiary hospitals,” he added.

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Insurance: the next inflection point

Another tailwind for the sector is the gradual expansion of insurance coverage beyond hospitalisation. However, Menon cautions that insurance adoption and market acceptance must grow together.

“It’s a chicken-and-egg situation,” he said. “Families need to accept this model first, and insurance providers want scale before empanelling players like us. Both will evolve together.”

As awareness grows and outcomes improve, post-hospital care could increasingly become a standard part of treatment pathways, rather than an afterthought.

A structural shift underway

With India grappling with overcrowded hospitals and a rising chronic disease burden, the case for structured recovery outside hospitals is strengthening. Sukino’s expansion—and the investor capital backing it—suggests that post-discharge care is moving from the margins to the mainstream of Indian healthcare.

What was once an invisible part of the patient journey is now shaping up as a distinct, investable healthcare segment—one that could redefine how recovery is delivered in India.

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